Time to take a look at second in the new series of mini MOTU figures with the new set. Once again it's a two pack with one hero and one villain. Whereas last time we had the main hero and a henchman of evil, this time it's the main villain and a lesser, but still well known, hero. Moss Man and Battle Armor Skeletor.

The pack comes in the same style package as the previous set, fully showcasing the figures inside as well as the collect and connect piece behind them. The back of the card shows off the other sets, except it doesn't really. While it does show which collect and connect piece will come with each set, only the previous set's characters are revealed and the upcoming sets are silhouetted out. Kinda defeats the purpose there. We do know the next two are Stratos/Scare Glow and Man-at-Arms/Faker, but beyond that is anyone's guess. There's speculation we may get She-Ra, but we won't know for sure until SDCC.

Outside the package these little guys are nicely detailed, despite their very small size. There's not much articulation, but you don't typically see much in minis from any line. The heads turn left and right, the arms swivel forward and back at the shoulders and the waist twists. Strangely the sale page at Matty says they have wrist articulation too, but the actual figures do not. And I'm sure it's not just a case of tight joints not wanting to move, you can see on Skeletor's bare arms there is no articulation point there.

The Skeletor figure comes decked in his iconic Battle Armor look, though there is no battle damage feature. I can understand not being able to create the feature, but I kind of wish they had made it with a dent to acknowledge the vintage figure. Still the paint deco on the armor is great, but sadly my figure suffers from the same over greenwashed effect that some of Classics variants have. (Ironically the Classics BA Skeletor is one that didn't have this problem!) It doesn't look that bad in the lighting of the picture here, but trust me, it's much more noticeable in person. It's not horrible or sloppy, but as a Filmation fan I prefer Skeletor's skull to be more yellow. Skeletor includes his mini Havoc Staff and a purple sword, both of which can be removed from his grips.

Moss Man features his more 200X/Classics simian face look, which I greatly prefer as it makes him look more like the good guy he is instead of a repainted Beast Man. What's really great though is they did indeed give him flocking! It just wouldn't be Moss Man without his fuzzy feel. For weapons he includes his club, which takes a hint from the Classics version and has a wooden appearance with vines wrapped on it, and a brand new weapon in a wooden shield. It resembles a cut log section with the tree rings and also has vine coverings. This is a neat new weapon that really fits Moss Man and would be great to get in larger scale for the Classics version of the figure.

The set also includes the second part for the collect and connect mini Castle Grayskull. It's the lower section of a tower featuring some brown rock formations at the base and the iconic green bricks of the castle. It should be noted though that this piece does not connect directly to the piece we got with the first set so we're going to need to wait until at least the next set before we can begin actually putting the thing together. Even then it's more likely going to take until the fourth. The next piece is the top part of the tower the fourth will be the lower face part with the jawbridge.

The mini Masters are a fun collector's item and a nice new form to collect these classic characters in. However, as I've mentioned before, I really wish these had been marketed at retail instead. Not only would it have been a great way to get MOTU back into mainstream as kids today seem quite fond of mini lines, but at retail they likely would have cost less. The price tag on these guys seems rather high for such small figures, and Digital River's criminally high shipping costs only compounds the problem. It does seem to be a bit of a deterrent for fans and makes me question if this line is going to continue on much farther. We are committed to getting the first six sets, and thus will complete the mini Grayskull, but Mattel has said beyond that depends on how well the sets sell and so far it looks like they are selling much slower than the Classics figures. A shame because I'd love to see at least a few more of the A-listers in this series (Teela, Trap Jaw, Hordak, Sorceress...)

The Battle Armor Skeletor/Moss Man mini set is, as of this post, still available on Mattycollector.com. Until next time, Good Journey.

_________________SUPPORT MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS

"I HAVE THE POWER!!.... the power is mine, not yours. Thanks for asking."

Good question, I didn't even think of that while reviewing. Of course the fact that it didn't occur to me indicates that no the mini Moss Man is not scented. I just double checked and I don't smell anything.

I honestly don't remember the vintage Moss Man having a smell and I owned more than one over the years as a kid. He must have though since everyone says he did and they included the scent with the Classics version. Apparently the smell fades over time and eventually disappears entirely. My vintage Moss Man has no smell while my Classics has faded considerably. It's still there if you actually pick up the figure and sniff, but when I first got my Classics Moss Man the scent was super strong, for weeks I could smell him from the shelf as soon as I waked in the room.

Conversely both my vintage and Classics Stinkor figures have their smells. It's faded a bit, but is still there and much stronger than Moss Man's. From what I understand this is because Moss Man's scent is sprayed onto the finished figure but Stinkor has his (patchouli oil) mixed into the plastic in the mold.

_________________SUPPORT MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS

"I HAVE THE POWER!!.... the power is mine, not yours. Thanks for asking."

I could never remember where I knew the funk of patchouli oil from when I would come across it. Stinkor! Of course! That answers a question that has been in my head for ages, thank you.

Also, I think Moss Mans smell is why I still think Pine-Sol cleaner is so great. They're pretty similar. Just so you know, I am not some weird sniffer or scent fanatic, they just trigger so many memories.

Being that I have only read some of your recent reviews, I apologize in advance, but I have a couple general questions. Are these figures only available at this particular site? Do you find yourself buying two of everything, one to unbox, one to keep fresh?

I was a mad collector of "World of Springfield" figures and toys. But got burnt out trying to keep up with all the exclusive this and that by subscribing for this or that magazine or store. Pre ordering case quantities just to guarantee that I got every set and figure in a series run. People were usually horrified that I opened all my figures and sets. They're toys, and they make some fun sounds when connected to playsets. You would never know otherwise. I dunno...What's your thought? Is ToyFare magazine still around? I really enjoyed that while I was collecting, very fun and well done. I think some of the guys went and started Robot Chicken with Seth Green.

I seem to recall hearing something about this scented action figure thing before- that's just funny that they did that with He-Man- but I guess it's fitting for the character. I guess you should be glad they didn't release a Skunkman character.

_________________"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." - Jesus (John 14:6)

"You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."- MacGyver

I seem to recall hearing something about this scented action figure thing before- that's just funny that they did that with He-Man- but I guess it's fitting for the character. I guess you should be glad they didn't release a Skunkman character.

They did, that's what Stinkor is.

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but I have a couple general questions. Are these figures only available at this particular site?

Essentially yes. You can turn to the secondary market websites like Big Bad Toystore (or of course, E-Bay) and find them once they've been released, but these are resellers who buy in bulk from Mattycollector then turn around and resell them for a profit. It's an option for finding older out of stock figures or guaranteeing you get a specific character without buying a whole year's subscription, but they will be at inflated prices. Sometimes reasonable, sometimes outrageous. Your best bet is to try to get them for cost from Mattycolelctor.com first. The monthly releases go on sale on the 15th of each month -unless the 15th falls on a weekend in which case the sale is on the next business day.

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Do you find yourself buying two of everything, one to unbox, one to keep fresh?

No. I'll occasionally pick up extras of certain characters like army builders or grab extras cheep off e-bay for customs, but I can't afford to buy multiples of everything. Heck last year I was in some real bad financial trouble and had to stop buying all together. Thankfully the fan community helped out and I was able to arrange deals where I traded said extras I had for the new figures and managed to get caught up and eventually got everything. Now I'm back on my feet and can afford my subscription again, but I still have to budget it.

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People were usually horrified that I opened all my figures and sets. They're toys, and they make some fun sounds when connected to playsets. You would never know otherwise. I dunno...What's your thought?

sometimes I'll leave very rare figures in the package, but I prefer to display my collection loose and have fun with them.

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Is ToyFare magazine still around?

Sadly no.

_________________SUPPORT MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE CLASSICS

"I HAVE THE POWER!!.... the power is mine, not yours. Thanks for asking."

MacGyver wrote:
I seem to recall hearing something about this scented action figure thing before- that's just funny that they did that with He-Man- but I guess it's fitting for the character. I guess you should be glad they didn't release a Skunkman character.

They did, that's what Stinkor is.

Hahaha- that's awesome! Come to think of it, I think you've mentioned that guy on here before- have you already done a review for Stinkor?

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No. I'll occasionally pick up extras of certain characters like army builders or grab extras cheep off e-bay for customs, but I can't afford to buy multiples of everything. Heck last year I was in some real bad financial trouble and had to stop buying all together. Thankfully the fan community helped out and I was able to arrange deals where I traded said extras I had for the new figures and managed to get caught up and eventually got everything. Now I'm back on my feet and can afford my subscription again, but I still have to budget it.

Praise God! Glad to hear you are financially doing well again, man.

_________________"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." - Jesus (John 14:6)

"You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."- MacGyver

Is there a wiki site or even omnibus collections of these stories and comics? Also, do you do 'Unboxing' videos? People seem to go crazy for those, and I read you can generate a little money through hits.

Okay- thanks for the link.
By the way- I've seen a few "unboxing" videos on youtube here and there- I don't really get what all the hoopla is with those- except for fans who can't afford the item being unboxed I guess- or just haven't been able to get it yet- so it's nice to see an up close look at it. And I suppose it can be helpful to see all the contents of said item before purchasing it.

_________________"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by me." - Jesus (John 14:6)

"You can do anything you want to do if you put your mind to it."- MacGyver